He is fortunate his first legitimate crack at 20,791 comes on the road, tonight against Utah at EnergySolutions Arena. Had it come in San Antonio, Duncan figures, he’d probably have one of the most fearsome shot-blockers in league history to contend with.

“If we’re at home, I’m sure David will try to come out of the stands and block my shot,” Duncan joked.

Duncan won’t have to worry about the Admiral tonight, only Big Al Jefferson, but no matter. For the Spurs in general and Duncan in particular, the Jazz have been trouble enough lately.

Last season, Utah went 4-0 against the Spurs, sweeping the season series for the first time since 1993-94, back when Karl Malone and John Stockton were running pick-and-rolls in short shorts, often at Robinson’s expense.

For the Jazz, it broke an extended period of silver-and-black frustration. They had gone a decade without winning in San Antonio before doing it twice last season.

For the Spurs, last season serves as motivation as they return to the banks of the Great Salt Lake.

“We lost four times against them, so of course I remember,” Spurs point guard Tony Parker said. “We’ve got to get a little revenge against them.”

The Spurs are expecting the same old rough and rugged Jazz team tonight, even with Jefferson replacing the departed Carlos Boozer on the roster, Paul Millsap replacing him in the starting lineup and venerable coach Jerry Sloan set to miss the game to attend a funeral.

Earlier this month, Utah set an NBA record by rallying from double-digit deficits to win five consecutive games.

“It’s just another testament to a team that, over the years, has been the most mentally tough in the league,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.

The Spurs, meanwhile, would argue the team visiting Utah tonight is not the same one the Jazz squashed four times last year. Those losses all came before February, at a time when the Spurs were still struggling for an identity.

This year, the Spurs enter the first meeting with Utah with a 9-1 record tied for best in the league, and riding an eight-game winning streak.

“We lost all four last season, but we played them very early,” Manu Ginobili said. “We were not the same team we ended up being in February, March and April.”

The last time Duncan was on the verge of a scoring milestone, Utah was also standing in the way.

On Jan. 20, Duncan came into a game against the Jazz at the AT&T Center needing 14 points to reach the 20,000th. He fouled out of a 105-98 defeat unceremoniously stuck on 19,999.

If Duncan — who has already equaled Robinson as the franchise leader in games played (987) — can meet his season average of 13.7 points tonight, he will eclipse his ex-teammate on the scoring charts as well.

Whether that would make him the Spurs’ overall scoring leader, per se, is a subject of debate.

In addition to the 19,383 NBA points George Gervin scored for the Spurs from 1976-85, he also tallied 4,219 in the final three seasons of the franchise’s ABA incarnation.

To some, Gervin’s total of 23,602 remains the Spurs’ career scoring mark.

“It’s not something I think about, but sure, why not?” Duncan said, when asked if Gervin’s ABA numbers should count. “He could score, that’s for sure.”

Tonight, Duncan will care less about the number in his box score than the number on the scoreboard. If the visitors’ side of the ledger is larger than the home side, he will leave Utah a happy man.

CHARTING DUNCAN

In addition to being poised to pass former teammate David Robinson on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, Spurs forward Tim Duncan is within striking distance of moving up in a few other categories as well: